A one-stroke victory over South Korean Hee-Won Han was all Nicole Perrot needed yesterday to secure her first win on the LPGA Tour. Nerves were rattling as the three-stroke lead Perrot had heading into the final round swiftly faded with multiple bogeys on the front nine of the 6,204-yard Ridge Golf Course.
As Perrot’s lead was slipping Han threw out birdies on holes five, six and seven showing the 21-year-old Chilean that she was ready for a good challenge. But golf is an unusual game. You can’t tell who the winner will be until the final putt rolls into the 18th hole. So goes the story of Perrot and Han. After her early back-to-back birdies Han recorded pars on her final eleven holes. Perrot battled back with three final birdies, enough to stop last week’s Office Depot winner from claiming a victory just one week after securing the trophy at the Office Depot Champioonship.
Nicole Perrot is now the tenth first-time Rolex winner this year and takes home a $150,000 check, an exquisite trophy and the glory of upward mobility, repositioning herself on the money list from 50th to 31st position. Just last year Perrot earned her tour card with a third place finish on the Future’s Tour money list.
“I knew it was going to be a tough day”, said Perrot. “Iwas not thinking about scores and kept doing what I was doing. I focused on my own game, and I really stayed patient and gave it my all. I think that was the key.”
The 2001 U.S. Girl’s Champion took control at the 16th, the hardest hole on the course, by swatting a 5-iron, dropping the ball six feet from the hole and putting for birdie to go one-up over Han. “I knew that putt was important” said Perrot.
There were no hard feelings from Han. “The wind was blowing that way and the pin was a little bit on the right side. That is a good birdie there, that is why she won.”
Hee-Won Han is working hard to climb the ladder of success on tour. With both her recent win at the Office Depot and her second-place finish this week Han has rallied from 19th to 7th place on the money list.
Karrie Webb finally rallied to a toip-ten placement scoring two rounds at par and two 67’s. It’s about time Karrie! The fans know you’re a great golfer but it’s up to you to prove it to yourself. Only then will you get back into the winners circle.
Natalie Gulbis didn’t have a top-ten finish this week, a surprise for Natalie fans although she did manage to tie for 11th after scoring the low round of the day on Sunday (64). Christina Kim played respectably this week and finished in a tie for 17th.
Cristie Kerr started out in first place on Thursday with an amazing 62 but slid down to 47th place after a disappointing 77 on Saturday.
Happy Birthday to Librans Annika Sorenstam and Laura Davies! Annika turned thirty-five on Sunday Oct 9th and and British golfer Laura Davies turned forty-two on October 5th. Both must have been thinking more about their chnging of age than their scores. Annika had a forgettable tournament starting her final round nine strokes behind the leaders and finishing in a tie for 22nd place. Laura Davies scored a first round 75 and followed up with a round two score of 72. She missed the cut. Lorena Ochoa, yet another fan favorite in both the USA and Mexico also had an MC.
Pos Player Today Tot R1 R2 R3 R4 1 Nicole Perrot E -14 69 66 64 71 2 Hee-Won Han -2 -13 73 63 66 69 T3 Catriona Matthew -3 -10 70 69 67 68 T3 Liselotte Neumann +1 -10 68 70 64 72 T5 Shi Hyun Ahn -4 -9 69 68 71 67 T5 Lindsey Wright -1 -9 67 68 70 70 T7 Karrie Webb -4 -8 71 67 71 67 T7 Jean Bartholomew -3 -8 73 64 71 68 T7 Young Kim -3 -8 67 72 69 68 T7 Heather Bowie -3 -8 70 69 69 68